ShoeGuy: All Wet

Why Split Prints and Bear Paws Don't Tell the Whole Story

Such was the situation with one of those "bear paw" guys who dropped by ShoeGuy's store one morning after running a 5K. He was curious as to how long it would take to "break in" his new shoes purchased recently from a running store in another city. He had run in them only twice, including today's race, and was having pain in his ankles that was getting worse with every mile.

Sho Guy noted Bear Paw was wearing a clean, but broken-down pair of very good motion-control shoes. And though this young man was a decidedly stout drink of water, toting easily about 275 pounds of former college offensive tackle on his powerful legs, the shoes should be able to handle the load.

"The shoes shouldn't need breaking in. Did they watch you run in these shoes before you bought them?"

Bear Paw looks off in the distance in search of focus for his memory. "No, they just said I have flat feet, and that I need a motion control shoe."

ShoeGuy checked Bear Paw's feet, noted the total lack of an arch and then examined the new but nearly dead shoes. The midsole was cruelly deformed, crushed on the lateral side of both shoes, and the uppers just above were frayed from apparently scrapping on the ground. Was this guy running or break dancing?

ShoeGuy checked out Bear Paw's feet again. Arches still non-existent. No wet test or Brannock device needed, as they would inevitably reveal what was flatly obvious. And, everybody knows (from all those wet test articles) that flat feet over-pronate. A classic clue that screams for motion-control shoes.

"Put your shoes back on and run for me." Bear Paw complied without hesitation. Pain is a wonderful motivator.

The gentle big guy then jogged down the sidewalk, UNDER-pronating to a degree Shoe Guy had heretofore thought humanly impossible. A flat-footed under-pronator. Bear Paw fails the wet test. Or rather, it fails him.

ShoeGuy fitted Bear Paw into a rare straight-lasted "neutral" shoe with a full-length midsole, one with no medial post and no sexy but support-free gap under the midfoot area. Back out on the sidewalk: neutral pronation, just like a "normal" arched foot.

ShoeGuy sees this phenomenon once every few years: Some guys with flat feet have a very efficient gait. Putting them into a traditional shoe for flat feet, one that is loaded with motion-control toys, can cause them to painfully under-pronate.